New USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn was in Atlanta on Tuesday visiting the Trojans' commits (and potentially other targets) with plans to be in Connecticut on Wednesday.
In a break from his frenetic first week on the job, Lynn joined media on a Zoom call for 16 minutes to talk about his plans for the USC defense, his coaching background, his defensive style and more.
Lynn reiterated a couple times that he doesn't yet have a full grasp on the unit he's taking over -- one that put up the worst defensive stats in program history -- but that in breaks during his travels he's been watching games from last season to evaluate the personnel he's inheriting.
He also emphasized that he comes in with no rigid expectations for what the defensive scheme will look like -- that it will instead be built around the talent and strengths of the roster.
"From a schematic standpoint, my thing is it’s all about the players. Everything is about the players. You want to put them in the best position to play fast, in the best position to make plays, and I think that looks a little bit different every year, depending on how your team looks," Lynn said. "So just really excited to get this next recruiting class in and to see what this team is going to look like this spring, and then try to see with this USC team, 2024, what is the best way to put this team in the best position?"
See all of Lynn's comments below:
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When you're on the road now, what's your recruiting pitch?
"Right now, when I’m on the road, the main thing I’m really trying to do is really just start to build a relationship with these guys. I’m behind the 8-ball. There are some kids that I was recruiting when I was at UCLA, so now it’s just about continuing that relationship. But for the guys that I have not met yet, I really just want them to get to know me and to try to build a relationship with them as fast as I can.
What did you learn from pulling off a dramatic rebuild at UCLA that you can apply here now?
"You know, last year was a big learning curve for me. It was my first time in college. There were a lot of things in the spring I was seeing for the first time. I just think going through this now, a second year in college, a little bit more experienced, I’m just excited about the opportunity, excited about the process. But I also know it’s not going to be the exact same that it was last year. It’s a different group of guys, it’s a different staff. It’s not going to be the exact same. We just have to figure out the best way to duplicate that here.
What needs to change in terms of this defense, what do you want to do schematically?
"From a schematic standpoint, my thing is it’s all about the players. Everything is about the players. You want to put them in the best position to play fast, in the best position to make plays, and I think that looks a little bit different every year, depending on how your team looks. So just really excited to get this next recruiting class in and to see what this team is going to look like this spring, and then try to see with this USC team, 2024, what is the best way to put this team in the best position?"
This team has missed 10-plus tackles a game the last several years -- how do you go about fixing that?
"Tackling is always a thing you always have to emphasize. You always have to emphasize. I haven’t been here, so I’m not exactly sure why that is. But I’m a big believer in you have to emphasize fundamentals over and over and over and over again. At all positions. And it’s something you have to do all throughout the year. Whether it’s drills, whether it’s showing guys good examples or bad examples on tape. It’s something that has to be emphasized. And your team has to have that attitude too, where they want to tackle. I’m just excited to see what this new group is going to look like, the ‘24 team, and see what we can do with it."
Two-part question, going into last year what prompted you to want to make the move to college and see that as your future, and then who have been your biggest influences on shaping your style as a defensive coach?
"As far as making the jump, when I got the opportunity from Coach Kelly, it came out of the blue. I really felt like it was an opportunity personally for a lot of growth getting a chance to call plays, getting a chance to coordinate a defense, getting a chance to manage a staff. So just the opportunity for growth, and then working with the age range -- my only experience with college kids prior to that was interviewing them at the combine. And then I got a chance to coach the East-West game a couple times. Just coaching the East-West game and being around the college kids, I just had so much fun. It's different than NFL players, so I was just excited about the opportunity and about the growth.
"And then as far as coaches who have impacted me, I've been very, very fortunate to be exposed to a lot of very good coaches. The first coach off-hand, I'd have to say, is Rex Ryan. You know, I played for Rex, I was a scout for Rex and I was a coach for Rex. He kind of got me into the league, and a lot of things that I do, a lot of the way I see the game always comes back to him. Gus Bradley is someone who had a huge impact -- I just think he's a phenomenal teacher, super, super detailed. I was only with him for a year, but that year I was with him I grew a lot. And then Romeo Crennel, Wink Martindale and Mike MacDonald, those are the next DCs I was with and I feel like each of them had a different impact on me. I take a little bit from everywhere I've been. You know, just very, very thankful and grateful to have been exposed to those type of coaches."
Position group by position group, what are the key things that you look for in building those groups?
"I mean, the biggest thing across all positions is versatility. You know, it's hard I think in the way the game is played now in college and the NFL to have guys that just do one thing. You want versatile guys up front who can align in different spots. That way you can get into different fronts without having to sub. So you need certain types of bodies on the edge, you need certain types of bodies on the inside where you can move those guys around, so if we want to go from a four-down front to a five-down front we don't need to sub to put a bigger guy in because we have the personnel where we can just go ahead and do that with the guys we have on the field. And from a linebacker and secondary standpoint, same thing -- just versatility, football instincts, guys who are just very passionate and love football."
When you took the job, what was the first thing you said to Lincoln Riley in regard to what you needed to fix things here?
"Well, Coach Riley addressed it -- it was size up front, especially going into the Big Ten. I played in the Big Ten. Big Ten has big bodies on the offensive and defensive line, and that's something that we need to get bigger up front. And then outside that, I'm still going through the roster. I've gotten a chance to watch a practice, I'm out recruiting right now but in between recruits I'm trying to watch games from this past year just so I can see the players, because right now I don't really have a great feel for the team just because when I got the job I hit the road and have been recruiting since."
What seeing USC's defense, what is your thought on why they gave up so many explosive plays and how to fix it?
"I mean the first thing that sticks out is the team is not that far away. You see a lot of good things on tape. As far as the explosive plays, that’s something again I need to watch more tape, dive into. I want to dive into their playbook, that’s something that I did at UCLA when I first got there. I watched the tape but I also wanted to know what they were doing and why and what their scheme was because there might be some schematic stuff that they did that was good that we might keep. There might be some stuff that we change. But I think to know all that, you kind of just need a little bit more information, which I’m trying to gather right now."
How will you approach building your defensive staff?
"I haven’t even got a chance to meet everybody on staff yet. I was recruiting in LA for a day, I’m in Atlanta now, Connecticut tomorrow. So just really focused on seeing the commits, seeing the guys we’re going after, the transfer portal guys and then I’m looking forward to meeting the staff, but it’s not even something I’m really thinking about right now."
What lessons did you take from your first year as a coordinator?
"You know, just each week is different. College football you play a bunch of different types of offenses, from a Washington State team that’s going to be spread, Air Raid to an Oregon State or Utah team. So you just have to prepare for a lot. And it was just very fun for me to get a chance to coach the college kids and really just see their growth from spring to fall and I learned a lot from them. I think I’ve only really taught NFL players before this so getting a chance to teach college kids has made me a better teacher because you can’t assume anything, you know. That’s something that I learned very early on, you’re really building the foundation for some of these kids."
What are your personal goals for this year?
"I just want to play the best defense possible. I think that we have every reason to. I think that one of the reasons I was excited about this job is because I felt that after my conversations with Coach Riley and Jen Cohen, they are passionate about playing elite defense here at SC by any means necessary."
Thoughts on getting ready to compete in the Big Ten?
“Yeah, I mean, it’s going to be, we’re going to see even different styles in the Big Ten. And that’s something where we have to do a good job in the spring, making sure that we’re seeing the stuff that we’re going to see in the fall, as far as – we’re going to see some two-back formations, wer’er going to see certain run schemes that we didn’t see in the Pac-12, we’re going to see more 12, 13, 22 personnel. So that’s stuff that, we have to make sure that we’re preparing our guys for all throughout the spring. That way, week three, Michigan, we’re not showing them this here for the very first time.”
What can you take from your NFL experience that helps you in college?
“I think just the overall preparation into the NFL, you know, from a schematic standpoint, from a terminology standopint, to how we teach it, to how we’ll do walk-throughs, I just think it’s going to prepare guys for the next level. So that when they go to the NFL, there’s always going to be differences with each thing, there’s always going to be things you need to learn, but I do think that between the scheme, between the way we coach, which between the way we do things, it’s just very NFL-like and it just prepares those guys for the next level. And there’s a difference between, you know, having good players and winning football games, which is the ultimate goal – but our goal is to do that while also preparing them for the next level.”
What's noticeably different that fans will see about your scheme vs. Grinch's?
“Again, I don’t know enough, quite yet about USC’s defense. I’ve watched two games, I’ve watched a practice, I’m looking forward to watching the entire year. But as far as our defense, I’m not a guy hwo has like a, hey, this is my scheme, this is what I do. Again, it’s all about the players. I think you have to be flexible, you have to be able to adapt, and you need a scheme that is built that way. And with the rest of the coaching staff and myself this past year, we were able to do that. We had a very flexible scheme that not only fit our personnel, but allowed us to be a little bit different each week, depending on the offense that we were playing. And, we’re not going to do that exact same thing at SC because there are different pieces, different players, different staff, and we want to still try to do that same thing in our own way this year.”
In your talks with Riley, did it come up that you held USC to 3 rushing yards and did he want some scouting feedback on the offense?
“It actually did not come up. But I’m sure it will at some point, especially as we get closer to spring ball and we start competing against each other.”
